# Cubans Really are Different



## EKG (Sep 2, 2006)

The Miami Herald 
April 8, 2001 
Canada test can sniff out fake Cuban cigars
TORONTO (EFE) -- A team of Canadian customs service 
researchers has invented a technique to detect fake Cuban 
cigars, hoping to reduce the number of counterfeit Havanas 
entering the country. 
A simple test can detect the chemical characteristics 
unique to tobacco leaves processed in Cuba that distinguish 
them from plants cultivated outside the island. 
Researchers used an instrument similar to one used to 
detect banned substances in the urine of athletes to isolate 
certain acids found in tobacco leaves. It compares the 
acidity of the suspect cigars with the certified acidity of 
tobacco leaves grown in Cuba. 
The procedure also allows customs inspectors to detect 
cigars hidden inside other products. 
In 2000, Canadian inspectors sent some 1,400 boxes of 
suspect cigars to customs service labs to determine 
whether or not they were authentic Cuban cigars.

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuba/sniff.htm


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## Twill413 (Jul 19, 2006)

I could have saved them a lot of time and money...just let me smoke one and I will tell them if it is real or not.


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## Da Klugs (Jan 8, 2005)

Doesn't seem to have caught on. (2001 article) 

The customs guys know best. They only let the fakes go through.


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## dayplanner (Dec 11, 1997)

Da Klugs said:


> Doesn't seem to have caught on. (2001 article)
> 
> The customs guys know best. They only let the fakes go through.


:r :r :r :tpd:


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## smokepiper (Jan 16, 2006)

They probably could have just hired a few BOTLs and just paid them in trade. 

There goes science taking the humanity out of cigar smoking. I don't want to know about special acids. I smoke them cause I like them. :2 

Then again, if it keeps people from buying them I guess it's a good thing.

D


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## Blueface (May 28, 2005)

All I want to know is what did they do with the 1,400 boxes?
I could have certainly volunteered to test them.
Wonder if they implemented it in the past 5 years and the success.
Time to google.

Just checked.
No updates on this since it was released in 2001.
The sniffer lost its scent.


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## Old Sailor (Jul 27, 2006)

Figures Customs would spend money on that, they have a Marine unit up here and they don't even have a boat to use, we had to take them out when they needed.......:r ps: if any members are customs , don't flame me....:hn


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

I hate customs. They just searched me and my whole car about 1 week ago coming from Windsor to Detroit.

Funny thing is my golf buddy always gives me a ton of these weird cigars without bands that I don't even smoke


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## kvm (Sep 7, 2005)

So if U.S. customs picks up on this does it mean all our shipments will have the FDA stamp of approval on the box. I wonder if they will stamp it or burn it in. Of course the stamp would mean fakes.


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## Sandman (Mar 26, 2006)

Ermo said:


> I hate customs. They just searched me and my whole car about 1 week ago coming from Windsor to Detroit.
> 
> Funny thing is my golf buddy always gives me a ton of these weird cigars without bands that I don't even smoke


Well i'll tell ya, if you don't want them i'll take em.


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## jovenhut (Jul 13, 2006)

what will they think of next


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## JohnnyFlake (May 31, 2006)

Da Klugs said:


> Doesn't seem to have caught on. (2001 article)
> 
> The customs guys know best. They only let the fakes go through.


Obviously keeping the real ones for themselves!!!!

JohnnyFlake


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## EKG (Sep 2, 2006)

LOL o bright one


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## Blueface (May 28, 2005)

My twist on the story:

The Miami Herald 
April 8, 2001 
Canada test can sniff out fake Cubans
TORONTO (EFE) -- A team of Canadian customs service 
researchers has invented a technique to detect fake Cubans, hoping to reduce the number of counterfeit Havanas entering the country. 
A simple test can detect the chemical characteristics unique to Cubans that distinguish them from those procreated outside the island. 
Researchers used an instrument similar to one used to detect banned substances in the urine of athletes to probe and isolate certain acids found in Cubans. It compares the acidity of the suspect Cuban with the certified acidity of those procreated in Cuba. 
The procedure also allows customs inspectors to detect Cubans hidden inside other products. In 2000, Canadian inspectors sent some 1,400 suspect Cubans to customs service labs to probe and determine whether or not they were authentic Cuban.

Wow!
I better warn all my relatives and fellow Cubans that Miami is still the better target and best to stay clear of trying to go in through Canada.


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## Baric (Jun 14, 2006)

Blueface said:


> My twist on the story:
> 
> The Miami Herald
> April 8, 2001
> ...


:r :r "to probe and determine" *shudder*


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## Darbob (Sep 13, 2006)

I find it a bit strange strage though. Just like anywhere else, Cuba has it's dog rockets. I suppose they are not making a statement about Cubans being better, just that the chemical compositions of the soil, which infuse into the tobacco, are distinct.

I prefer dominicans for the most part anyway. In the US, we want what we cannot have, so the ISOM takes on a whole "Forbidden Fruit" mystique.

Embargo emshmargo!:bn 


Darb


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## PadronMe (Apr 26, 2005)

Darbob said:


> In the US, we want what we cannot have, so the ISOM takes on a whole "Forbidden Fruit" mystique.
> 
> Darb


I am pretty sure Cubans are prefered by most of the world.

I like Dominican,Nicaraguan,Ect. cigars also but you can't beat a good Cuban.


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## EKG (Sep 2, 2006)

Aren't Cubans generally preferred by the rest of the world because they are cheaper and much easier to find then other types of premium handrolled?


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## HarryCulo (Aug 18, 2006)

EKG said:


> Aren't Cubans generally preferred by the rest of the world because they are cheaper and much easier to find then other types of premium handrolled?


Is this a trick question??


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## HarryCulo (Aug 18, 2006)

PadronMe said:


> .......... but you can't beat a good Cuban.


Hey, what a coincidence, I'm a good Cuban.


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## Darbob (Sep 13, 2006)

PadronMe said:


> I am pretty sure Cubans are prefered by most of the world.
> 
> I like Dominican,Nicaraguan,Ect. cigars also but you can't beat a good Cuban.


I bet that is not true in the Dominican, Nicaragua, Mexico.....

:r


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## PadronMe (Apr 26, 2005)

Darbob said:


> I bet that is not true in the Dominican, Nicaragua, Mexico.....
> 
> :r


Mexico? :r


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## PadronMe (Apr 26, 2005)

HarryCulo said:


> Hey, what a coincidence, I'm a good Cuban.


:r This thread has got me rolling.


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## tecnorobo (Mar 29, 2005)

PadronMe said:


> Mexico? :r


blech. mexican tobacco

I happen to prerfer cuban moonpies.
they are the best because cuba is waaaay down south.


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## pistol (Mar 23, 2006)

Darbob said:


> I find it a bit strange strage though. Just like anywhere else, Cuba has it's dog rockets.


I've never had a Cuban Cigar that was a dog rocket (let alone several to make "dog rockets"). I have some that I like more than others, and I've had many that were plugged (irritating, but may have been smoking them too young) but I've never smoked a Cuban Cigar and been like, "man that was nasty!" To each their own, but if you have any Cuban Cigars that you don't like, I'll gladly take them off of your hands!


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## EKG (Sep 2, 2006)

> Is this a trick question??


Are you being condescending? Oh wait those were both rhetorical questions. Can't remember where, but I did see a thread where a person from Hong Kong and a Briton were talking about this (they claimed that premium non-Cubans were more expensive then Cubans and definately more hard to find... at least at brick and mortar stores.) I guess they were wrong? After all I wouldn't know since I haven't been to a cigar store outside California. Then again before posting your reply you did note the question mark after my inquisitive statement right? Did you think I was trying to denigrate Cuban cigars or something?


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## Darbob (Sep 13, 2006)

All of the Cubans I've had were purchased in Canada, perhaps my view is skewed by that? I've not been impressed by them and find many of their Dominican counterparts to be superior in flavor and price.

I actually like some Mexican cigars very much. I'm curious as to why anyone would laugh at that. What is your beef?

I recently read an article that claimed Cuban soil is not what it was and that the cuban cigar of the past is just that...a thing of that past. Interesting that anyone would contend that every cigar made in cuba must be better than anything else. Seems to add to the argument that there is a plecbo effect going on when it comes to Cubans.

Darb


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## NCRadioMan (Feb 28, 2005)

pistol said:


> I've never had a Cuban Cigar that was a dog rocket (let alone several to make "dog rockets"). I have some that I like more than others, and I've had many that were plugged (irritating, but may have been smoking them too young) but I've never smoked a Cuban Cigar and been like, "man that was nasty!" To each their own, but if you have any Cuban Cigars that you don't like, I'll gladly take them off of your hands!


:tpd: :w

:ms NCRM


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## pistol (Mar 23, 2006)

Darbob said:


> Interesting that anyone would contend that every cigar made in cuba must be better than anything else. Darb


That's not at all what I wrote. I just wrote that I personally have not had a Cuban "dog rocket." I said that there are Cuban Cigars that I like better than others, but I've never had one that was plain nasty. I don't think anyone in this thread has said anything to that effect of "every cigar made in Cuba must be better than anything else." Also, where was this article that you read?


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## Darbob (Sep 13, 2006)

It believe it was in Smoke Magazine or it may have been a magazine Cuban Crafters sent me. I will have to check. However, I assure you, I did read the article and yes, it claims that the soil has been altered by acid rain and the loss of many of the original cigar techniques due to Castro killing off many of the top farmers. 

Yes, you did not say that there were no cuban dog rockets, I felt there was an implication there. My apologies. 



Darb


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## EKG (Sep 2, 2006)

Sorry Culo, I was too harsh. I blame it on inferior Dominican cigars!


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## uwhoo (Sep 8, 2006)

The price is always the give away.


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## pistol (Mar 23, 2006)

Darbob said:


> Yes, you did not say that there were no cuban dog rockets, I felt there was an implication there. My apologies.


No need to apologize! However, again you put words in my mouth! You may be right, but I'm just saying that *I've* never had one! Either way, to each their own, but I'll have to check that article out. I'd be interested to see what our resident chemist Mr Seangar has to say about that, "my boy is wicked smart!"


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## joed (Nov 12, 2005)

Darbob said:


> I actually like some Mexican cigars very much. I'm curious as to why anyone would laugh at that.


In my experience - every Mexican cigar I have smoked tastes like dirt! That's why I laugh whenever I hear someone say they like them. lol

It makes this hobby more fun - everybody likes something. I don't have tolike it if you are going to smoke it. Only you do and :fu the other people.


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## SeanGAR (Jul 9, 2004)

I saw the published manuscript of this work by Canadian customs and can say that it did not impress me at all (we use many of the same techniques to catagorize quality in foods). There was enough overlap of their measured parameters to make the results of questionable validity in court. They could not say with 99.9% certainty that a cigar was from one or another origin. As well, their data set was limited, making the applicability poor. They need to analyse tens of thousands of cigars to develop the kind of model needed for near complete certainty of their categorization.

The issues about soil quality and impact on tobacco & eventually cigars is potentially interesting, but until I see a study clearly showing nutrient losses lower quality of cigars from tobacco grown in those soils, I'm skeptical. Most of the best wines in the world are grown in areas with quite poor soil quality. Completely different from tobacco of course, but you can see that there is not always a direct positive relationship between soil quality and quality of the agricultural product being grown.


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## Blueface (May 28, 2005)

HarryCulo said:


> Hey, what a coincidence, I'm a good Cuban.


I am a bad Cuban.


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## Blueface (May 28, 2005)

EKG said:


> Sorry Culo, I was too harsh. I blame it on inferior Dominican cigars!


I think it was a Cuban in a Dominican Wrapper. 
(Kramer)


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## EKG (Sep 2, 2006)

:r 

Damn inferior 24 dollar Cohibas!


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## stogie_kanobie_one (Feb 9, 2006)

Is it me or does this not leave a gaping hole in their theory? I mean Cuban by origin vs. NON Cuban by origin is totally different than Authentic vs. non-authentic. I've read plenty of times about cigars being fake by brand but authentically Cuban.....

Sounds to me like if two Cohibas came from Cuba side by side and had authentic Cuban tobacco in them.... one being authentic the other being fake, this test would not catch it.....


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## coppertop (Dec 29, 2003)

Darbob said:


> I find it a bit strange strage though. Just like anywhere else, Cuba has it's dog rockets. I suppose they are not making a statement about Cubans being better, just that the chemical compositions of the soil, which infuse into the tobacco, are distinct.
> 
> I prefer dominicans for the most part anyway. In the US, we want what we cannot have, so the ISOM takes on a whole "Forbidden Fruit" mystique.
> 
> ...


Cuban cigars suck!!

Of coarse it could just be where you are buying them, what you are buying; since you said you've bought most of them in Canada, I can understand why you think domestics are less expensive. However, I've paid less or about the same then some people pay for a CAO Brazilia.


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## Darbob (Sep 13, 2006)

coppertop said:


> Cuban cigars suck!!


Hee hee...I've had a few great ones though...ones that made me think there was something to this Cuban cigar mystiqe. But I've had a few that made me want to thank Castro and the US for not getting along so I did not have to see them in my local cigar shop. Just a couple diferent ones though..actually, I think they were all RyJ varieties.



coppertop said:


> Of coarse it could just be where you are buying them, what you are buying; since you said you've bought most of them in Canada, I can understand why you think domestics are less expensive. However, I've paid less or about the same then some people pay for a CAO Brazilia.


Cool. I've heard that anyone near, but not in, the US jacks em up compared to the rest of the world. Hmmm...darn Capitalists! lol :u


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## EKG (Sep 2, 2006)

> Is it me or does this not leave a gaping hole in their theory? I mean Cuban by origin vs. NON Cuban by origin is totally different than Authentic vs. non-authentic. I've read plenty of times about cigars being fake by brand but authentically Cuban.....
> 
> Sounds to me like if two Cohibas came from Cuba side by side and had authentic Cuban tobacco in them.... one being authentic the other being fake, this test would not catch it.....


:tpd:

Geeze, I can't believe I or anyone else in this thread didn't catch that sooner


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